beingsofsoundfandomcom-20200214-history
Electronic Fiction
Introduction Genres Electronic Fiction can be broken down into two genres. One genre is "Acid-Free Bits" and the other is "Born Again Bits." electronic literature organization Acid Free essentially is a version of literature for people to read, to change, and to explore. Typically, Acid Free is older, so to keep it from becoming outdated emulators and special software are sometimes required. Born Again Bits is a version of electronic literature that takes older electronic literature and migrates it to XML for preservation. electronic literature organization XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a markup language that defines a set of rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable. Wikipedia Article on XML The design goals of XML are to make the internet simpler and easier to use. Electronic Fiction Electronic Fiction has been around for several decades but has only been available to the public since the 1990's. It started with Théo Lutz’s 1959 computer generated poem, “Stochastische Texte."http://dtc-wsuv.org/elit/elit-loc/denes-curatorial-statement/ After the commercial introduction of Electronic Fiction, the internet has been filled with literary works, from the classics to newer stories and poems. One can find a variety of examples from Shakespeare's Othello and Edgar Allen Poe's The Black Cat, to the more contemporary The Urban 30, a series of blogs from the viewpoint of modern superheroes. Modern Electronic Fiction engages the readers and allows readers and writers a connection to the works. There is very little on the history of Electronic Fiction, because its history has been documented through the pieces themselves. Interactive Fiction & Generative Text The varieties of electronic literature are diverse. Most readers are familiar with Hypertext. This software system links topics on the screen to related information and graphics, which are typically accessed by a point and click method. Some examples of these would be, Michael Joyce’s “Afternoon: A Story” or Shelly Jackson’s “Patchwork Girl.” Another genre is Interactive Fiction (IF). IF differs from Hypertext because it has strong game elements. Interactive Fiction requires input from the user. The interactor controls a player character by issuing a command. Interactive Fiction expands the repertoire of the literary through a variety of techniques, which include visual displays, graphics, and clever modifications of traditional literary devices. Generative Text is another genre of Electronic Literature. It is used to either generate text according to a randomized scheme or to scramble and rearrange pre-existing text. An example of generative text is Noah Wardip-Fruin’s News Reader. As with an ever evolving world, the traditional print reader will need to recognize and adapt from the traditional paper novel to the availabilities of electronic genres. http://eliterature.org/pad/elp.html http://eliterature.org/pad/elp.html I have said nothing (Feagin) In this interactive hypertext novel by Jane Douglas wiki we are put in the shoes of someone we know nothing about to guide them through a series of events in their life. As we go about our mission, we are told to click on whichever link we feel the desire to at the bottom. For each mouse click, a represesntation of their life is written across the screen in an unfiltered language one would come to expect from a hormonal teenager. There are some suggestions as to the way we can experience this literature, but in the end it is completely up to the reader. Nota Bene At first I was confused by the opening web page. What do I do? Where do I click to go to the Literature im supposed to read? Then it dawned on me to start randomly clicking everywhere, so thats what I did. I slowly began to find myself in a elaborate maze of twists and turns in a young ladies life who I knew nothing about. After i stared at the screen puzzled for more than a minute it hit me. We arent given any background because we are supposed to create the story. This is a story in the proccess of being developed and you are the electronic "writer" for lack of a better term. It is your job to create the outcome of this womans life though the clicking of your laptop mouse. This work of art is no just a page by page read, it is a pleasure seeking joy ride. One must get inside the head of this person to fully understand what each click of the mouse means. It is not a simple book, but more of a game to see what the end result will be. Will your character die at the hands of yours truly? Or will she live to see another day. This is a very good electronic fiction story because it allows the reader to become more involved and not just go along with the story. It requires effort and understanding to fully enjoy this page. This piece is a work of art in my opinion because the readers experience is crafted piece by piece, just as a artist crafts a painting. It is not assembled in a rushing fashion, but rather the artist takes time to ponder on which elements would go better together. In "I have said nothing" I have said nothing you must pick which outcome you want, while trying to decipher what will happen when you have reached a decision. Will it be good or bad? Thats for you to find out, and tamper with versus someone else arleady condemning the characters fate. It is entirely up to you, making this like a real life stategy game, only with no consequences. The possibilities for electronic literature like this one is endless, and the potential for improvement is outstanding. Much as Jane Douglas shows her opinions through this from, other people do it daily as well. This is a vast area of possibility that people are choosing to explore more and more. Hegirascope (Pair) “Hegriascope” by Stuart Moulthrop is a maze in hypertext language. After reading Moulthrop’s electronic literature, my best guess would be that its purpose is mostly to make the reader think about hypertexts themselves. The hypertext attributes different meaning to the same passages. Some examples of this would be how the different characters will have different experiences, there are dead ends, and there are time constraints. The concepts ensured that the story is almost living and breathing to the reader. Hegirascopeleaves the ultimate control over the reading process to the program code. Timed links make the lexia change without giving the reader a chance to take control via mouseclick. http://directory.eliterature.org/node/498 According to Webster’s Online Dictionary “hegira” means a journey to escape an undesirable situation and “scope” refers to a space for motion or thought. So the title itself is the first clue for what the reader will experience. When one first views the title they are invited into a colorful, adventurous journey. Emily Sorg’s states,” That the very title of Stuart Moulthrop’s literary work hints that elusive, labyrinth-like nature. The importance of the works title is further emphasized upon reading, not merely through the text, but also through the hypertextual format in which it is presented. http://www.cyberartsweb.org/cpace/nonfiction/enf/sorg1.html Hergriascope is an odyssey that one can not escape. The choice is yours. Do you stop, or continue on? Hegriscope begins with a colored background, with yellow bold font. Immediately, the reader is drawn into this experience. In just a few moments, the reader begins to understand that this is not a one-dimensional page turner, but more like an interactive-gaming experience. The hypertext is decision based. The unique process takes the reader through a series of links, if the player waits too long the screens will progress on their own. This action makes it difficult for the reader to guess about any kind of meaning or theory. The experience of reading Hegriascope was unusual. Some of the paths I chose led to blank screens, resulting in confusion. Bearing in mind, at the beginning I assumed due to the brightly colored background it would be easily maneuvered, and even more easily understood, but as the game progressed the pathways led to more dead ends and me becoming more frustrated. As with all traveling, I regrouped and detoured down a different path to different outcomes. Even through my frustration, I understood that this was a journey, unlike any that I had experienced. The lack of control was a definite first for me. In times of indecision, the choices were made for me, changing my view point completely. The choices made me think about hypertexts and how one choice could have several different meanings. I have never experienced the feeling of loss of control until I read “ Hegirascope.” “Hegirscope” can be deemed as a work of literary art. By this I mean to say, the emotional power that a piece of art is said to achieve. There was so much power in this piece of electronic literature. This power comes from color, the use of words to evoke feeling, and the hypertext pathways that bring the piece of literature to life. The reader experiences all of this in a matter of seconds. In the end, this literary art alludes to the fears that many readers have of losing control in the losing process. Deviant: The Possession of Christian Shaw (Clark) "Deviant: The Possession of Christian Shaw" is a piece of electronic literature created by Donna Leishman. Wiki The author talks about the background of the story discussing how it was based on true events that happened in 1969 during the witch trials. This piece follows the possession of Christian Shaw and takes you on a journey of what happens to her. By moving your mouse to different objects and clicking on different items and scenes, you control what Christian does. Because you are allowed to click on different spots and do not have to go in a specific order, this makes you lose your ability to click on other things. But, the ending is not controllable, it is the same everytime. In order to experience everything, you have to restart several times from the beginning. Sometimes I would get confused or lost. This made me think that the author did this on purpose so you felt the same way as Christian walking around. In the beginning of where I started, all I heard was creepy sounds, which definitely set the mood for the entire story. As Christian was walking around, she started to change. She would meet strange creatures that would get her to do weird things. Her body would contort and she started to have weird symptoms. In some scenes, there would be animations of seeds sprouting, flowers growing, and sperm-looking creatures are swimming in a pipeline inside of a building. After going to all of the scenes, I started to see a theme of sex and birth. One scene that definitely depicted sex involved a priest. The priest was much older looking than Christian. He was very creepy and took her inside his house and the look on her face before entering gave me a feeling that she was going to be molested. As you make your way deeper into the story, you can see the progression of her possession. As I restarted several times from the beginning and went through the story, I started to notice and feel something. I started to feel guilty. I realized that the story would not happen if there was no reader. I possessed Christian. I made her body contort. I made her get molested by the priest. If I was just watching, then nothing would happen. I felt responsible for all of the events that happened to Christian. I think that that is what the author wanted to happen. Because I was so curious, I read the artist's statement where Leishman says that this work, "plucks the participants sense of social responsibility." Meaning, she wanted the readers to feel responsible as they controlled the story and not just watch it, but experience it as well. "Deviant: The Possession of Christian Shaw" is definitely a piece of electronic literature on account of several characteristics. Electronic Literature Hyperlinks are present the entire time. These allow the reader to choose which paths to take within the story. In this story, the reader is able to click on any path that they choose. This story is also Interactive Fiction. Instead of a piece of literature that you just read, this one is filled with graphic and animations that allow you to experience literature in a whole new way. Leishman does a great way of using electronic literature and interactive fiction to help show emotion and make you feel different emotions. Not only were you watching the story, you were experiencing it as well. L0ve0ne(Littrell) In L0ve0ne by Judy Mallory, we are taken through a story that we only get bits and pieces of at a time. It starts with a homepage where you can click on the beginning of the story and it takes you to a short section of text before you can click on home. The home link takes you to a whole other page, different from the first. The links are written like a spastic poem down the page. It makes sense, but in a disjointed way. All of the links are connected and they take you through the story a step at a time, but not necessarily in the right order. It is a puzzle that we, the readers, have to put together for ourselves. However, if you click on the picture on the homepage where all the links are, you can read the story in the way the author intended. At first, I was a little confused and tried to put the story in the right order and read it, so that it made sense. However, after going through it a few times, I realized that the story is a series of memories, flashing before the author's eyes and, in turn, my own. It is more than a story or a puzzle, it is a life, full of memories and meaning. After going over it a few times, I discovered that the picture of the author put the story in the right order. This lead to another little bump in the road, the color scheme the author chose. The links are in poem form, and the links are in red until they have been clicked on or read. The disjointed memories that the author gives us are memories connected to her wedding. What she wore and how that connected to other memories, those memories connecting to other memories, giving us glimpses into this woman's life. She talks about bike rides, sex in the back of a car, her job, and sweaters all in the span of what would usually be a few paragraphs. The emotions that I experienced from the author while reading this piece were intense. I could feel the longing she felt as she reminisced about the way things used to be in her life. The way these memories are recorded and connected together is something that I have never personally experienced before. On doing further research on Judy Mallory, I discovered that she has other electronic works, and lectures at Princeton University. I also found that she specializes in Hypertext. "Malloy uses the fluidity of the hypertextual medium to create a poetic text, which, in spite of its fragmentation and discontinuity, leads to a reading experience that is very satisfying because it allows the reader greater creativity as to the form the reading will take. ...In Malloy's text, the visual is transformed into the verbal. The border between text and image dissolves, and image becomes the text." Jaishree K. Odin, Modern Fiction Studies (MFS) http://www.well.com/user/jmalloy/ I personally loved the way this piece was written and put together. After reading L0ve0ne, I am really starting to enjoy electronic fiction as a genre of literature. It has changed my viewpoint on electronic literature for the better. I see it as an actual genre now, instead of the scribblings of the internet. References Wiki Electronic Literature